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Aruba Instant vs NETGEAR Insight Access Points comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 31, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Aruba Instant
Ranking in Wireless LAN
10th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
51
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
NETGEAR Insight Access Points
Ranking in Wireless LAN
22nd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Aruba Instant is 2.0%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NETGEAR Insight Access Points is 1.3%, down from 1.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Aruba Instant2.0%
NETGEAR Insight Access Points1.3%
Other96.7%
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

Alessandro Salvadori - PeerSpot reviewer
Comes at a good price and has a good cloud console
We usually sell Aruba Instant where there is no need for more than four or five switches. It is generally recommended for very small companies where we don't need more than three or four switches We are using it only for very small companies. We have had a reduction in time, but it is not that…
Calvin Ong - PeerSpot reviewer
Reasonably priced product with a straightforward deployment process
I never thought about what could be made better in the product since my company is a customer-centric organization where we provide Aruba or NETGEAR, depending on the demands and needs of our customers. The product's UI needs to be simplified and made more straightforward. It would be great if it was possible to send notifications regarding some errors related to the product that can be sent from our company to our clients through the organization's post-sales team.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The most beneficial features for network management are the price and the cloud console."
"The products offer a lot of flexibility. Almost everything can be configured. It works very well for providing remote services."
"The most valuable features of the solution are in the areas like routing and VLAN."
"Allows network monitoring through mobile devices"
"If you don't need heavy-duty filtering and things like that, it's a cheap solution. And, you have central management, and it works."
"The most valuable feature is that it provides a redundant wireless connection for a client."
"What I like best about Aruba Instant is that it serves as a virtual controller, so you don't need to buy other equipment to manage all your access points. I also like that the solution is easy to use."
"The deployment guides that we get from Aruba are excellent."
"[Being] able to configure the WiFi devices and to see utilization remotely, or from the cloud."
"From the WiFi aspect, it's very intuitive and easy to use. The solution enables me to manage my entire WiFi from anywhere in the world..."
"Our company sometimes uses the solution's technical support, and we have seen that they sort out our general problems quickly."
"I am all about simplicity. With the Insight management solution, I don’t need an additional cloud controller, appliance, network manager, or PC/server to configure and manage my access points. You have to look at cost, and everything has a cost. There is a cost to using Insight. But if the cost is reasonable, I don't want another layer. The ability to deploy a network and then have that software built-in, without having to go to a third-party, is big. Also, the less pieces that I have to call in on, the better. So, when I'm calling NETGEAR, it's not like I'm using some third-party piece of software to manage their product. It doesn't add that layer of complexity, which is key."
"I now have the ability to remote access my network. That works extremely well. I can access it from any place. I don't need to be physically at the device. This saves me on time and travel."
"The meshing capabilities are the most valuable feature. When I am going in-between buildings, my phone doesn't have to pick up different WiFi. They are all the same. Even in-between the buildings, I stay connected."
"The internet connectivity is good."
"The product's deployment is straightforward."
 

Cons

"Aruba Instant can improve by increasing the gigabit range of the switch or by adding additional management features and tools. It can be helpful."
"Technical support needs improvement. We use the forum for technical support assistance, but it's not enough. If you're talking with a technician, they're in India. They cannot give you the service that you need. Sometimes have problems with some personal services and technical support is not helpful in this area."
"The Central cloud management (optional) is far behind the competition in features, ease of use, and dependability. I have tried Aruba Central a few times over the years and, in my option, it is not where it needs to be for serious consideration in production environments."
"They could offer a new model for access points that are outdoors."
"Aruba Instant is a simple and scalable solution that works well, but the costs you incur from access points could be cheaper."
"I believe there's room for improvement in monitoring, especially when troubleshooting issues. Currently, there's limited intelligence around monitoring. It needs to improve stability and scalability."
"Aruba Instant's visibility, firewalling, L3 functionality, and DHCP services could all be improved."
"The management component is difficult to understand and not very user-friendly which increases deployment time."
"The biggest issue I've had is that it works very well with the WiFi, but it does not offer any assistance at all with the routers. You can't control them or manage them at all. As soon as you want to use anything on the network side—because I have multiple 28-port switches—you can't manage them using this app."
"I have some frustrations with the ease of use. It tends to be sluggish. The graphical interface is pretty, but not useful. They have this tree that shows connected devices, which makes no sense whatsoever because the labeling field of the tree truncates all the items to the point that it's almost useless. You can't even tell what it is. I would prefer a spreadsheet list of the gear as opposed to a graphical representation."
"My major problem is right now, the area which I need to cover is around 7,000 to 10,000 square feet...I would like NETGEAR Insight Access Points to extend the area coverage they provide."
"The product's UI needs to be simplified and made more straightforward."
"The pricing and standard connectivity can be further improved."
"The registration is annoying. I have to go back to NETGEAR and log tickets. Access points and router registration are something that they need to address in Insight. They need to fix the bug of getting the devices activated and enrolled in Insight without fighting with them. I have probably done about six of these in the last month. You get to see patterns."
"Due to certain shortcomings in the solution's stability, I feel that the solution's stability requires improvement."
"While the data throughput does provide us with full insight into data being used, we find that it's not very accurate."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Two years ago, I paid INR 12,000 for access points, but now, I will have to pay double the amount, which comes up to INR 24,000, making it a costly product."
"I would rate the pricing a five out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive."
"I purchased the hardware and there are no monthly or yearly licenses to buy."
"I would rate pricing six out of ten."
"There’s no licensing required to use the tool."
"It is not expensive. Its price is fair. You get many features with the normal licensing. If I look at Cisco, it is very expensive if I need similar things."
"Avoid the Central cloud license if you can."
"Some in the hospitality industry use the solution because it's cheaper and doesn't require licenses."
"Price-wise, it is a little too high, about $20 higher than what it should be, but it's worth it. It's cheaper than Cisco's access point, but the products are not apples to apples."
"I can source the stuff pretty quickly wherever I go through the distributor. There is pricing available at NETGEAR if you can spend between $2,000 and $5,000 on a solution. So, there is special pricing that they can help with. The vendor's reps are very responsive. They have a good channel system."
"We have some basic models they give without a license."
"It wasn't much more than 100 dollars a year. For the devices that we have, the pricing was pretty fair."
"Their pricing is perfect for smaller businesses who are money and budget conscious. There are a lot of other solutions out there that are two to three times more expensive."
"I think that the price of the product is reasonable."
"The pricing seems to be reasonable."
"My company does not need to pay anything related to the solution's licensing costs."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Construction Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Retailer
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business30
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise14
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

Which is better - Ubiquiti WLAN or Aruba Instant?
We researched Ubiquiti and Aruba when looking for a WLAN solution. Ubiquiti offers good WLAN access both indoors and outdoors. It provides an enterprise-level WIFI while remaining cost-effective. U...
What do you like most about Aruba Instant?
I find network management features related to monitoring Wi-Fi usage and visited sites particularly valuable. Content filtering is also important to prevent access to malicious or inappropriate web...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba Instant?
In my experience, Aruba Instant's price is reasonable compared to premium products like Ruckus, Cisco, or Juniper. However, when compared to entry-level market segments, the price is higher. Overal...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Purdue University, Orlando Magic, Brussels Airport Company, Molecaten Holiday Parks
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Instant vs. NETGEAR Insight Access Points and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
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